Governor to meet with legislators to discuss special session

Governor Tom Vilsack and the Iowa legislature’s top G-O-P leaders will meet today in hopes of striking deals on issues like tax reform and a new state economic development fund, issues that’re to be debated in this Thursday’s special legislative session. Vilsack, a democrat and lawyer, is getting heat from members in his own party and from the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association for agreeing to some of the business reform republicans are seeking. Vilsack, who used to be president of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, says there are some who don’t want compromise, but he says with a Democrat Governor and a Republican-controlled Legislature, both sides have to make compromises. Vilsack says he’s trying to impress upon fellow democrats that he’s looking at the “larger picture” and the future of the state. Vilsack says for the state to grow and progress, there must be a new, large-scale economic development initiative. Vilsack says he can’t please everybody, and his job — he says — is to represent not the special interests but the common interests of Iowans.